Friday, December 15, 2017

​The idea that an ISP can collect money from a content provider because a consumer requested content is like saying Safeway should be able to charge Kellog's for the Pop-Tarts I want to eat.

Just wait until Disney starts telling Time Warner to pony up for all the Toy Story they've been carrying. The real problem is that consumers have little or no choice of ISP. Each ISP has a practical monopoly in the markets where they operate.

In order for a free market to be a solution to some problem, there has to be a choice. I may choose from a variety of content providers, but I don't get to choose my cable company.

If a consumer doesn't like the way their ISP is regulating content, they should be able to choose a different ISP. But they can't. Maybe it's time we start regulating ISP's like the monopolies they really are.